Olivia Poulet is Big Finish’s Mrs Peel

Olivia Poulet will be the recipient of the “Mrs Peel We’re Needed” messages in Big Finish’s adaptations of the comic strips from Diana magazine featuring Steed and Mrs Peel.

‘We spent many months trying to find our Mrs Peel,’ producer David Richardson explains. ‘There were so many contenders for the part, and we gave it a lot of time because it is such a huge part of our TV heritage. Then, one day, Olivia Poulet was at the studio recording a Doctor Who audio. I happened to catch her chatting in the green room… and there was enough of Mrs Peel to make my ears prick up. Before long we had handed her some script pages and she was doing her audition – one that she passed with flying colours!’

‘I am really thrilled to have the opportunity to play Emma Peel – one of the most iconic and charismatic female characters of British sci-fi and fantasy,’ Poulet added. ‘I can’t wait to get started!’

Poulet will appear opposite Julian Wadham as John Steed. The eight episodes will be released over two box sets in April and November 2016. The two box sets are being made under licence with STUDIOCANAL and DC Thomson. In addition to the audio plays, the original strips will be reprinted by Big Finish in a single graphic novel in November 2016.